[Sgtstiletto]

Hello, new to the site. Pretty active DIYer... Clearly to my own detriment this time. I own a house that was built in the 60's. to make a long story short, I have a room downstairs that had parquet in part of the room. Becuase it was only in part of the room, I decided to tear it up so there would be a level area to lay carpet. Armed with a pry bar, I was able to tap it under the parquet and pop it up. No sanding, or scraping, just a little leverage. Since then, a flooring contractor has installed carpet over this adhesive... And I have learned that sometime black adhesive can contain asbestos. There's a lot of misinformation out there so I was wondering if anyone with experience in this field could clarify a few things. One; in terms of exposure, how likely is it that I disturbed the mastic to a dangerous level and two: with covering the acm being a viable option, is carpet going to keep fibers contained?

Sorry for the long post, just trying to get some answers... I even called the epa asbestos hotline and the guy wasn't all that helpful...

Edit* I have sent samples off for testing and am awaiting results...

 

[joecaption]

Unless you started sanding of grinding in to the old mastic there's minimal chance of any issues.
Once it's it's covered there's 0 issues.
I'd be far more concerned if this is carpet laid over a slab in a basement.

 

[Tom738]

Dangerous levels? Zero chance. But the question is whether the levels are great enough they have to be removed in a very expensive way.

The problem with asbestos is occupational exposure--people who live exposed to it every day, or who work in fields where it is part of their environment. Some of them will develop medical problems resulting from that. Aside from that it's mostly just a scary monster that makes dealing with it very expensive. It's not good to get the fibers in your lungs, so if the concentration is high enough you may want to (or may be required by your law to hire people who do) use a negative pressure machine and the full body suits to cover you if you're clearing material that is a high percentage asbestos--but even without that IIRC there isn't evidence you'll develop mesothylioma from doing it one time; it's something that's a problem if someone installs or removes asbestos products for a living, or works in a factory that uses or processes asbestos, or otherwise is exposed to it all the time.

Below a certain threshhold, I believe the law lets the homeowner toss it out and not take any special precautions. (Contractors often can too below that percentage but are less likely to because they don't want to risk it). Don't worry about it until you get the results back, and then compare the percentage to the legal percentage above which you may have to hire someone certified if you want to remove it. It is not a very complicated job but they charge a lot for it. Be sure to price compare.

But I believe it's not going to actually cause you medical trouble unless you're exposed to it all the time, in a way where it's not contained in another material.

Best case, btw, there's just no asbestos or hardly any there and you don't have to worry about it.

 

[Sgtstiletto]

Once it's it's covered there's 0 issues.

I've read from some online communities that carpet is porous and is not a safe cover, any validity to that? I would think carpet padding and carpet would keep it contained though...

I'd be far more concerned if this is carpet laid over a slab in a basement.

No, I'm on.a split level. I live in Virginia beach. Not many basements around here... And of those that exist.. Flood like crazy. It is on a slab though.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

No, I'm on.a split level. I live in Virginia beach. Not many basements around here... And of those that exist.. Flood like crazy. It is on a slab though.

As long as the concrete surface temperature is maintained below dew point temperature you're good to go. Matter of fact, that's with any indoor material surface.

 

[rusty baker]

I've read from some online communities that carpet is porous and is not a safe cover, any validity to that? I would think carpet padding and carpet would keep it contained though...



No, I'm on.a split level. I live in Virginia beach. Not many basements around here... And of those that exist.. Flood like crazy. It is on a slab though.

Carpet and pad over asbestos is fine. That's one of the things the EPA suggested years ago.